Saab 17

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B 17

Saab B 17A in Danish colors.
Type bomber & reconnaissance
Manufacturer Saab
Maiden flight 18 May 1940
Introduced 1942
Retired 1950, Sweden
1968, Ethiopia
Primary users Flygvapnet
Ethiopia
Finland
Austria
Produced 1941-1944
Number built 264

The Saab 17 was a Swedish bomber-reconnaissance aircraft.

Contents

[edit] Development and service

The project first started at the end of the 1930s as the L 10 by ASJA, but after the merger with SAAB in 1937 it was renamed Saab 17. The wings were reinforced to make it possible to use it as a dive bomber. Since there was a shortage of engines the planes were flown to the destination where the engine was removed and reused for the next delivery. The plane was also made in three versions with different engines. The B 17A used a Swedish built Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp, the B 17B a British Bristol Mercury XXIV licence-built in Poland, and the B 17C an Italian Piaggio P.XI.[1] The aircraft could be fitted with wheels, skis or floats. A unique feature of the Saab 17 was its use of the extended landing gear assembly, with its large covers, as dive brakes.

The first test flight was on 18 May 1940 and first deliveries to Flygvapnet were in 1942. However, the development of jets meant it had a short service history. When the planes ended service in 1947-1950 46 of them were sold to Ethiopia where they were in service until 1968. Two B 17As were sold to Finland in the 1950s, where they served as target tugs. Both were soon damaged and removed from service.

[edit] Versions

  • B 17A - Bomber version with Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp engine; total production: 132
  • B 17B - Bomber version with British Bristol Mercury XXIV engine; total production: 55
  • S 17BL - Reconnaissance version on landing gear
  • S 17BS - Reconnaissance version on floats
  • B 17C - Bomber version with Piaggio PXI engine; total production: 77

The SAAB 17 had a total production run of 322 aircraft.

[edit] Operators

[edit] Specifications (B 17A)

Data from Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War II[2]

General characteristics

  • Crew: two
  • Length: 9.80 m (32 ft 2 in)
  • Wingspan: 13.70 m (44 ft 11 in)
  • Height: 4.00 m (13 ft 1 in)
  • Wing area: 28.5 m² (306 ft²)
  • Empty weight: 2,600 kg (5,720 lb)
  • Loaded weight: 3,970 kg (8,734 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney R-1830-S1C3G 14-cylinder radial engine, 882 kW (1,200 hp)

Performance

Armament

  • 2× 8 mm ksp m/22F machine guns, fixed forward
  • 1× 8 mm ksp m/22R flexible tail gun
  • 500 kg (1,100 lb) of bombs

[edit] References

  1. ^ B 17 - SAAB 17. Swedish Bombers 1926-1959. [1] Access date: 6 May 2006.
  2. ^ Jane 1946, p. 201.
  • Jane, Fred T. “The Saab-17.” Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War II. London: Studio, 1946. ISBN 1-85170-493-0.
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Flygvapnet bomber designations pre-1940

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Flygvapnet test aircraft designations pre-1940

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Flygvapnet reconnaissance aircraft designations pre-1940

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